Offer Time Limit Question, Can I extend? Forum

[Anonymous User]

So I luckily got an offer last week. In the offer it says they would like the courtesy of a response within 10 days of date on letter. I know however that NALP says you can have up to 28 days to accept. I wouldn't have any problem, but I just got a CB next week for a firm I like, and it falls past this 10 day limit. Is it bad form to ask for an extension of this 10 day limit, given that it doesn't seem to follow the NALP guidelines?

[chingwoo]

So I luckily got an offer last week. In the offer it says they would like the courtesy of a response within 10 days of date on letter. I know however that NALP says you can have up to 28 days to accept. I wouldn't have any problem, but I just got a CB next week for a firm I like, and it falls past this 10 day limit. Is it bad form to ask for an extension of this 10 day limit, given that it doesn't seem to follow the NALP guidelines?

Is the firm searchable on NALP?

[thesealocust]

Tread carefully - if the firm is asking for a faster response, they might be near to filling their class. If the firm in question is small (or is a smaller/regional office of a larger firm), you could be pushing your luck asking for an extension - they'll want to finalize their class and might flaunt the NALP guidelines to avoid over-hiring.

On the other hand, if it's anything like a big/major/national firm with a large summer class, I think asking for an extension under these circumstances should be safe. They will probably appreciate the communication, but it's routine for offers to be extended even past the 28 days if it's for legitimate reasons (read: finishing the process with another firm). It would also be smart to let the firm you're doing the CB with know you have a timing issue, so they don't drag their feet on you.

[Anonymous User]

Hi, OP here. Little more info should have been more specific. Firm A (firm with offer) is NOT searchable on NALP, but a decent size regional ~150 attorneys, with offices in two cities in state. They had all of their callback candidates come into office on same day last week, and I got an offer the following day. Loved the people, wouldn't have a problem working there. Offer deadline is on Monday. Hiring partner said in phone to take a "few weeks", but offer letter says 10 days.

Firm B is a growing national firm with offices in several states, not in V100, but in Am law 200. Pay is 15K more base, has more transactional work (what I want to do) and would have better exit options. Callback scheduled for Wednesday. Here's the catch, Firm B came to my OCI and didn't invite me to interview. I resubmitted application last week because f it, and recruiting coordinator emailed me/ had 30 minute phone call with me today. She invited me to CB at end, and I didn't talk to any attorneys in office. I'm just having a hard time understanding why they wouldn't CB first other people they had interviewed with at my OCI. Maybe the thought my GPA was too high for them and I would accept elsewhere? (most of the associates are from "lower ranked" schools, but its a relatively new office that has only hired 1-2 classes of summers). I'm at a T20 with a little above median GPA.

I plan on going into my CSO office tomorrow and trying to talk them through this and get their input. If Firm A doesn't extend I'm not going to decline their offer and be left with just a chance at Firm B and no other leads. If Firm A does extend, I plan on going to callback, and telling Firm B basically that they are my top choice, but I have an offer on table that expires Friday and I need to know by then. If Firm B says they can't decide by then, I'll accept Firm A unless basically a partner tells me they are going to hire me beforehand.

Thoughts on this approach? Has anyone had success with extending some offers previously?